Spiral Galaxy NGC 6118

This image is of the impressive spiral galaxy NGC 6118, located near the celestial equator, in the constellation Serpens (The Snake). It is a comparatively faint object of 13th magnitude with a rather low surface brightness, making it pretty hard to see in small telescopes. This shyness has prompted amateur astronomers to nickname NGC 6118 the "Blinking Galaxy" as it would appear to flick into existence when viewed through their telescopes in a certain orientation, and then suddenly disappear again as the eye position shifted.